Brandon Shuff on Bonus Ball
- Thread starter Roger Long
- Start date
About 2 hours. It really is fun to watch. Better if you have a dog in the fight.
Absolutely the best match of the whole year was tonight with Frost and Archer's teams.WOW is all I can say.I'm glad to see Frost go in one way and sad in another.They worked hard and played well all season but I've wanted Archer's guys to win all along!
On another hand,if Mr.Frost spoke to me the way he spoke to those guys this year,he and I would no longer speak and one of us would have a black eye!lol
Go Bonus Ball!!
On another hand,if Mr.Frost spoke to me the way he spoke to those guys this year,he and I would no longer speak and one of us would have a black eye!lol
Go Bonus Ball!!
Just watched an older match with NY so I could see Earl. I LIKE it.
Very professional production and a great arena. I don't personally like gray cloth, but it makes sense in a TV setting, nice back drop against the orange and purple balls.
I like the uniforms (Earl wears 61, I'm guessing that is when he was born)
It's like a mix of 9ball, 8ball and one pocket with a little banks thrown in to add a little spice. It gives you the best of all worlds, watching 6 pro's battle it out, with a shot clock to keep the action moving. I also like "Coalminers 8ball", so maybe why I like this so much
Some great shot making and strategy going on in these matches. Easy game to learn, and folks can play it at home just using stripes and solids as the orange and purple balls. If I lived in Vegas I'd be at the matches.
I think I'm gonna have to at least buy a Rockets hat
The dog in the hunt....of the NON pool players showing interest in Play....is from the State Name or City Name representing that Player Group.
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The difference is, the Bonus Ball players are not required by the WPBL to be there. The players you see in the stands are there by choice. They go back there to study the other teams.
If you are at the arena as a fan, you are free to tour the entire facility and get close to the players; and if you do that, you are able to overhear them talking about past Bonus Ball experiences and discussing new strategies. They really are into it. John Schmidt is one who is great fun to listen to. He is pumped over this game.
Roger
Last night Raj Hundel put a clinic with his amazing performance but chicago lost because of the technical error made in the last few minutes of the closely contested race.
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ditto ^^^^
add 2 more @ JUL & last week, to no avail from lack of PR/response. but it's nice that Roger is taking the lead.
i want to add, that MATCHROOM, refunded ASAP to ALL, for Mosconi Day 4 tickets @ $40/ea, since it never happened. no one requested this; it was a surprise. now THAT, is CLASS....
PS - we own a set of BB balls & helped promo @ OCT 15 w/ JA, o-o-p. and i'm still waiting on "that TY call" from Larry.
.
All I know is what would of happened to me if I pulled any single one of the moves BB management has pulled on the players and fans. From making players show up knowing they were not going to play to "the check is in the mail" to charging people for a whole season then leaving them in limbo for months.
I guess if you sell the dream hard enough to desperate people they will forgive all sins.
One thing is certain. Whoever is finding investors for BB is a damn genius to sell that same turd over and over.
I guess if you sell the dream hard enough to desperate people they will forgive all sins.
One thing is certain. Whoever is finding investors for BB is a damn genius to sell that same turd over and over.
Thanks, I did not get to watch last night and I heard it was another good one. I would really be upset that I missed it if Chicago would have won.
This type of behavior has been going on for years, samo/samo to me it's no surprise, as it's near impossible to remove the spots from leopards and train em to be something else. Going into any business venture that's new/fresh has its risks and learning curves and failures.
Using the word TURD in your above thread/too me, communicates an undertone that others in need of your services down the road may think twice about or just pass. With all your talent and skills in this area, and all that you've learned right and wrong, your lucky, your probably 20 yrs younger than I and have at least ONE or two more good swings at another venture. I got hooked years ago while working with Pat Fleming, and actually went back to college and took TV/Radio production courses for a year at our community college. I know your hurtin' but the pain is ones tiller, unless ya roll over, U I don't think so. Hope ta see and talk with ya March/Denver.
Sincerely,
BM
I know the majority of people on here think bonus ball is a joke. But I went to both matches yesterday and they were the most exciting two matches I have seen in the last year or last few years.
The first match had Johnny Archer miss not one but two match winning balls. The second miss was similar to the Nick Varner miss against Mike Sigel.
Atlanta ended up winning in a shootout after Johnny couldn't play because he nearly broke his hand punching the table after dogging it twice.
The second match came down to a shootout as well with Raj Hundal making an amazing shot to keep Chicago alive only to see Rodney miss the next ball and knock themselves out of the tournament.
Bonus ball rules may seem complicated at first but after watching and learning for 30 minutes, you get the hang of it. The game is much harder than 9 or 10 ball, the one pocket and straight pool players have the advantage I think.
Listening to the players coach each other through nearly every shot and listen to how they think is amazing.
The safety battles to me are more enjoyable than watching a guy make 4 balls on the break in 9 ball and run out.
The bonus ball pr guys and ppv people may have alienated a lot of people and that's a shame because there was much more excitement and drama yesterday than in this years Mosconi cup.
The first match had Johnny Archer miss not one but two match winning balls. The second miss was similar to the Nick Varner miss against Mike Sigel.
Atlanta ended up winning in a shootout after Johnny couldn't play because he nearly broke his hand punching the table after dogging it twice.
The second match came down to a shootout as well with Raj Hundal making an amazing shot to keep Chicago alive only to see Rodney miss the next ball and knock themselves out of the tournament.
Bonus ball rules may seem complicated at first but after watching and learning for 30 minutes, you get the hang of it. The game is much harder than 9 or 10 ball, the one pocket and straight pool players have the advantage I think.
Listening to the players coach each other through nearly every shot and listen to how they think is amazing.
The safety battles to me are more enjoyable than watching a guy make 4 balls on the break in 9 ball and run out.
The bonus ball pr guys and ppv people may have alienated a lot of people and that's a shame because there was much more excitement and drama yesterday than in this years Mosconi cup.
Nice perspective....many don't like change, but this can only increase play if successful, it definitely won't decrease players.
I think Roger is being honest when he says that some players actually LIKE the game.
Why not? It's a decent game. It's got some challenge and depth.
It's not as weird or complicated as people make it out to be.
It's not hard to make up a pool game that's fun to play.
I spent hours yesterday playing a made-up game with my buddies yesterday. We had a blast.
So it's entirely believable to me that pros might actually enjoy playing a funky new game like BB.
The problem, as Stu is pointing out, is that
Enjoyable for players ≠ Enjoyable for spectators.
Like I could enjoy the living crap out of my little safety game,
but nobody would watch me play it, not even for free.
So whether the pros like it is almost completely irrelevant, when it comes to
whether the game will succeed (if you define "succeed" as make money, get on TV, etc.)
As for Chris' point about "then why don't they gamble at bonus ball with each other?"
Well, do they gamble with each other in ANYthing? My impression is, the top pros
aren't really dying to play each other for big amounts. On their days off,
do guys like John Schmidt or Corey go looking to gamble a few thousand
against hall of famers?
And if they do, do they want to play a game that's fun but kind of unfamiliar, where they
may not have all the rules down, and it's kinda long and complicated and you gotta keep track
of the score and which color you're on and which pockets are yours?
Why not? It's a decent game. It's got some challenge and depth.
It's not as weird or complicated as people make it out to be.
It's not hard to make up a pool game that's fun to play.
I spent hours yesterday playing a made-up game with my buddies yesterday. We had a blast.
So it's entirely believable to me that pros might actually enjoy playing a funky new game like BB.
The problem, as Stu is pointing out, is that
Enjoyable for players ≠ Enjoyable for spectators.
Like I could enjoy the living crap out of my little safety game,
but nobody would watch me play it, not even for free.
So whether the pros like it is almost completely irrelevant, when it comes to
whether the game will succeed (if you define "succeed" as make money, get on TV, etc.)
As for Chris' point about "then why don't they gamble at bonus ball with each other?"
Well, do they gamble with each other in ANYthing? My impression is, the top pros
aren't really dying to play each other for big amounts. On their days off,
do guys like John Schmidt or Corey go looking to gamble a few thousand
against hall of famers?
And if they do, do they want to play a game that's fun but kind of unfamiliar, where they
may not have all the rules down, and it's kinda long and complicated and you gotta keep track
of the score and which color you're on and which pockets are yours?
You should stop by and check it out, the past three matches have been fairly exciting. I would check it out before you knock it, not every match is pure excitement but that goes for all pool matches.
It is funny you mention gambling but some players/teams are not gamblers really. The Houston team lost to Miami, Houston has Chip Compton, Justin Hall and Jeremy Jones on it and they were the favorites to win over Deuel, Lombardo and Parica. Later that night I was hanging with team Houston and they were dead serious about playing Miami some Bonus Ball for the cash.
Even if the players got a weekly check, why would that be upsetting? Is there something wrong with pool players managing to get a weekly check? In my profession I get a weekly check and do not feel I am taking advantage of anyone.
I had an opportunity to watch a match in the BB arena in May 2013. I was in Las Vegas for 8-9 days at the VNEA tournament. The BB arena is more like a studio, and it was top notch.
I know someone who is on one of the teams. The funny thing is that I would have never known about the matches if I didn't know one of the players. You have a over 1000 pool players less than 10 miles away, and not one mention anywhere at the VNEA venue about the matches.
Pool promoters need to work together to continue to generate interest for existing and new players.
I know someone who is on one of the teams. The funny thing is that I would have never known about the matches if I didn't know one of the players. You have a over 1000 pool players less than 10 miles away, and not one mention anywhere at the VNEA venue about the matches.
Pool promoters need to work together to continue to generate interest for existing and new players.
Oh, I know you're not being combative, Stu. You're never combative, and I very much appreciate the tact and diplomacy you always exhibit here. I wish I was as well behaved as yourself.
I also appreciate your opinions. They are well thought out, and well communicated.
What you say about the problems presented in trying to attend live Bonus Ball matches in the past, is true. And the problems didn't stop just there. There have been numerous mistakes made by the WPBL; some big, and some not so big. But I consider all mistakes forgivable as long as there are efforts being made to correct them. And that is what I see the WPBL now trying to do.
Maybe Bonus Ball will make it, and maybe it won't. I don't really know. But it's just as I told Tommy Kennedy, as he was lamenting yesterday's loss during our lunch today: you can't look to the future until you stop looking at the past. I hope he takes my advice. I hope I take my advice.
All the best to you, Stu.
Roger